INCREMENTO

Global assessment of increasing wild ungulate numbers on ecosystem integrity

Research Pathway: Wildlife Ecology and Management

RTI2018-094202-B-C21 «Proyectos de I + D Retos de Investigación”, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Gobierno de España. Period: 2019-2022.

The past three, four and five March 2020, our colleagues Arturo Lizasoain (UPM), Juan Puyol (UPM), Eva Miranda (UPM), Aida López-Sánchez (UPM) and Juan A. Calleja (UAM) performed the first detailed survey of our study site in Quintos de Mora (Montes de Toledo). This gorgeous Narcissus pseudonarcissus subsp. portensis, welcomed them to the study area.

We expect that …

“Richness of early-spring flowering bulbous plants can be impaired in areas with high herbivore density. These flowers provide key resources for large pollinating insects such as bumblebee”

A successful journey

Our colleagues have surveyed the entire study area setting almost all vegetation transects; and tagging and GPS marking hundreds of woody shrubs to be surveyed by our drones. Both tasks are first crucial steps to perform a spatial explicit foodscape and vegetation temporary monitoring before, during and after red deer coexistence.

Juancho, Arturo and Juan are looking for shrubs to be geolocated (with GPSc) and measured.

Juan Puyol is measuring biovolume of an Erica australis plant.

The study area is a typical Mediterranean continental maquia with oak forest (Quercus ilex & Arbutus unedo) and scrubland (Cistus ladanifer, Rosmarinus officinalis, Erica spp.). This Mediterranean shrubland and old broadleaved afforestation was severely affected by summer droughts and red deer browsing.